Paneled roof sheet with integral carline



2, 1966 E. s. CISCO 3,263,379

PANELED ROOF SHEET WITH INTEGRAL CARLINE Filed April 1.2, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Edward 5. Cisco ATTORNEY Aug. 2, 1966 E. s. clsco PANELED ROOF SHEET WITH INTEGRAL CARLINE 2 Sheets-Sheet :1

Filed April 12, 1965 United States Patent 3,263,379 PANELEI) ROOF SHEET WITH INTEGRAL CARLINE Edward S. Cisco, Highiand, Ind, assignor to Stanray Corporation, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 12, 1963, Ser. No. 272,569 2 Claims. (CI. 5253) This invention relates to railway car roofs and more particularly to that type of railway car roof which is self sustaining and wherein a plurality of metallic roof sheets span from side plate to side plate of the car, are connected thereto, preferably have raised panels therein, and are welded along their adjacent margins to form a rigid load retaining tructure. Each of these roof sheets may be flat across the car, or pitched or arched from a central ridge portion toward the side plates, and the metal in the portion on each side of the roof is disposed in upper and lower planes forming the aforementioned panels.

In a roof sheet for this type of roof the panel is usually formed therein throughout the length of the sheet, with the ends of the panels merging into the sheet approximately at the eaves thereof where the sheet turns down over the side plates of the car, thereby functioning as beams between the side walls of the car.

Car roofs have been made for some time of what are known in the trade as diagonal paneled roof sheets such as shown in Patent No. 2,406,863. A plurality of these sheets are placed side by side across the roof between the side plates and they are joined together at their side margins by being provided with upstanding flanges, the flanges of adjacent sheets abutting and having applied thereover a seam cap riveted to said flanges. Said seam caps provide a watertight joint for the sheets and also strength as a beam across the roof.

A railway car in motion weaves and rocks and the rectangular frame composed of the side plates and end plates tends to become distorted into a parallelogram. The cars also twist on their longitudinal axes, setting up torsional strains, and the roof sheets tend to slide relative to each other at their adjoining edges. Therefore the adjacent margins of the sheets must be well secured together, as it is one function of a car roof to hold the sides and ends in square. The panel and carlines also assist in this functioning of the car roof.

When roof sheets are welded together at their side margins, the regular seam cap is omitted and the strength thereof as a carline is lost. The aggregate strength of these seam caps is substantial.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide a roof comprised of roof sheets having diagonal panels therein and with integrally formed carlines in the side margin of each sheet between the outer side edge of a panel and the side edge of the sheet, adjacent sheets overlapping at their side meeting edges and being welded together. The integral carline provides added strength in the sheet and compensates for the loss of strength in eliminating the outside carline. Strength of the roof is therefore about the same, the cost of manufacture of the roof sheets is practically the same, but there is a saving in weight and in assembly costs. These are further objects of the invention.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description of the invention.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing forming part of this application and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

FIGURE l is a plan view of a car roof, partly broken away, embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross section on the line 22 of FIG- URE 1;

"ice

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of a single intermediate roof sheet;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view on the line 55 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 6 is an end view of FIGURE 3.

The invention is shown as embodied in a car having metal side plates of substantially W-shape in cross section, which extend from end to end of the car and have a portion 1 disposed horizontally and which extends over the tops of the longitudinally spaced vertical side posts, not shown, of the car. A flange 12 depends from the outer edge of the horizontal portion 1, and overlaps the outer edge of the side posts. At the inner edges of said portion 1 an upstanding flange 14 is provided, it having an inwardly turned reflange 16 to which the eaves margin of the roof is assembled.

The car roof comprises a plurality of roof sheets which extend transversely of the car and together completely cover the area between the side and end plates. The roof usually comprises flat end sheets 18 which attach along one edge to the end plate of the car, and a plurality of intermediate sheets 20. The intermediate sheets 20 are ordinarily provided with raised panels of various types, but I prefer to use the type of panel shown in the aforementioned Patent No. 2,406,863. These panels occupy the major portion of the body of the sheet, are of triangular shape as at 5, and are formed in pairs, with the bases 22 of the panels adjacent the opposite ends of the sheet. The vertex 24 of each triangular panel is located adjacent the end of the sheet opposite its base. The panels are substantially right triangles and are arranged with the hypotenuse of each spaced from the other, leaving a diagonal strip 2 therebetween which acts as a substantial stiffener between diagonally opposite corners of the sheet. The base 22 of each triangular panel is parallel to the end of the roof sheet, the leg of the triangle is parallel to a side edge of the sheet, and the hypotenuse is parallel to a diagonal line between diagonally opposite ends of the sheet. The areas of the panels on either side of the transverse center of the sheet are unequal.

The side margins of the roof sheets are substantially flat, and the adjacent margins of adjacent sheets overlap and are secured together by automatic welding. One margin 11 of one sheet is offset the thickness of the material so that when it overlaps the adjacent margin 10 of an adjacent sheet, the under surfaces of the two margins are in the same plane. In this margin along one side of a panel in a sheet is formed an integral carline 6 extending from adjacent one end of the sheet to adjacent the other, which carline is channel shaped in transverse section.

The carline 6 is pressed from the original plane of the sheet in the same direction as the triangular panels 5. To provide more rigidity in the area of the seams, a shallow corrugation 9 is formed between the carline and the adjacent panel. This corrugation also takes up material which would otherwise cause wrinkles in the sheet. Thus each intermediate sheet has a pair of overlapping triangular panels therein, a shallow corrugation, an integral carline along one side margin, and an offset edge along the other side margin, to overlappingly engage the adjacent flat edge of the adjacent sheet and be welded thereto by automatic or machine welding.

In the manufacture of the sheets the corrugation 9 also functions as a means to lock the material between the dies so that when the carline 6 is formed the material required therefor is basically drawn from the outside edge of the sheet, rather than from the paneled side 0f the carline. If the material for the carline 6 were drawn from both sides, excessive wrinkling would result. The dies are therefore made so that when the corrugation 9 is formed, it is held firmly between the dies while the carline 6 is pressed and the material must come from I the margin of the sheet outside of the corrugation 9.

From the above it will be apparent that I have devised a paneled roof sheet with integral carline and stiffener which replaces the ordinary outside carline, saving assembly time and manufacturing costs.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A railway car roof sheet formed from a flat rectangular sheet of rigid material, one longitudinal marginal edge being offset upwardly the thickness of the material for overlapping an adjacent sheet, a pair of spaced stiffening panels pressed upwardly in the main body portion of said sheet, one of the ends of each panel being ad jacent opposite ends of said sheet, each panel extending toward the other end of the sheet, passing each other, and merging into the sheet adjacent the other end thereof, the areas of said panels on either side of the transverse center of the sheet being unequal, an integral carline pressed upwardly from said sheet inwardly from the other longitudinal marginal edge thereof, said carline being substantially greater in depth than said panels, said other longitudinal marginal edge providing means for underlapping the offset margin of an adjacent sheet, a shallow corrugation pressed upwardly from said sheet between the carline and adjacent panel and being of less depth than said panels, said carline and said shallow corrugation extending substantially from end to end of said sheet.

2. The railway car roof sheet as defined in claim 1, wherein said panels are substantially right triangularly shaped with the hypotenuse of said panels being spaced parallel and extending diagonally across the sheet.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,351,256 8/1920 Lively 52-53 1,635,306 7/1927 Bonsall 52-45 1,681,813 8/1928 Small 52-630 2,128,624 8/1938 Swanson 52--19 2,173,402 9/1939 Thompson et al 52-53 2,406,863 9/ 1946 Swann 52462 2,513,054 6/1950 Rudel 5253 EARL J. WITMER, Primary Examiner. 

1. A RAILWAY CAR ROOF SHEET FORMED FROM A FLAT RECTANGULAR SHEET OF RIGID MATERIAL, ONE LONGITUDINAL MARGINAL EDGE BEING OFFSET UPWARDLY THE THICKNESS OF THE MATERIAL FOR OVERLAPPING AN ADJACENT SHEET, A PAIR OF SPACED STIFFENING PANELS PRESSED UPWARDLY IN THE MAIN BODY PORTION OF SAID SHEET, ONE OF THE ENDS OF EACH PANEL BEING ADJACENT OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID SHEET, EACH PANEL EXTENDING TOWARD THE OTHER END OF THE SHEET, PASSING EACH OTHER, AND MERGING INTO THE SHEET ADJACENT THE OTHER END THEREOF, THE AREAS OF SAID PANELS ON EITHER SIDE OF THE TRANSVERSE CENTER OF THE SHEET BEING UNEQUAL, AN INTEGRAL CARLINE PRESSED UPWARDLY FROM SAID SHEET INWARDLY FROM THE OTHER LONGITUDINAL MARGINAL EDGE THEREOF, SAID CARLINE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER IN DEPTH THAN SAID PANELS, SAID OTHER LONGITUDINAL MARGINAL EDGE PROVIDING MEANS FOR UNDERLAPPING THE OFFSET MARGIN OF AN ADJACENT SHEET, A SHALLOW CORRUGATION PRESSED UPWARDLY FROM SAID SHEET BETWEEN THE CARLINE AND ADJACENT PANEL AND BEING OF LESS DEPTH THAN SAID PANELS, SAID CARLINE AND SAID SHALLOW CORRUGATION EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY FROM END TO END OF SAID SHEET. 